British Christmas Customs

It is a sad fact of presentday British life that Christmas has lost a great deal of its religious
meaning.Today, it's mostly Christmas cards, presents, stockings and lots of Santa Claus
impersonators, bulging trolleys at the supermarkets, long queues at the checkouts and all of it
accompanied by a veritable barrage of TV and other advertising and a merciless emphasis on
consumerism rather than faith.

It never used to be this way. Until at least the middle of the 20th century, Christmas customs tied to the
religious significance of the festival were quite common all over Britain. Christmas Eve was usually the
start of the celebrations, with the traditional Yule log being brought home, and a special supper served
of bread and cheese, ale and hot elderberry wine. Carol singing was already under way, and bells
were being rung in parish churches.

The Yule log would be placed on the kitchen hearthstone or to a large fireplace, and once lit, had to
burn for at least twelve hours, or bad luck might strikeIf the log was large enough, it might burn for the
whole of Christmas week.

In farmhouses and country homes in Cornwall, the Yule log was called a "mock" and was gathered
from the woods or forests. At Bridport in the county of Dorset, a huge oak log would be obtained from
the local shipyard. In the West Riding of the county of Yorkshire, in northern England, where the log
was called the "Christmas clog", it was customary to sit round drinking Christmas ale, play cards (with
a new pack) and sing "Yule! Yule!" In some places, the Yule log was actually the root of a large tree,
and Christmas candles that were burned had to be lit from the Yule fire.

The county of Devon, in southwest England, had a rather different way of dealing with the Yule log.
There, a large faggot from an ash tree bound round with twisted hazel, was used . The ash had many
occult and superstitious connotations in Devon. It was, for example, the source of lucky charms.
Several special recipes were reserved for Christmas Eve supper. There was a dish of wheat cakes
boiled in richly spiced milk in Nottinghamshire, and in Yorkshire, a Christmas pie made from beef's
tongue, fowl, eggs, sugar, raisins, lemon, orange peel and different spices. Some pies contained one
or two whole geese and six or seven chickens, and was so large that the pastry had to be tied with
iron bands while it was cooking in the oven.

The get-together aspect of Christmas Eve was provided in Cornwall with small current and saffron
cakes which were distributed to family and friends. No one ate their own cake, though. Everyone had
to taste someone else?s! This curious custom was a symbol of good fellowship at Christmas.

In Northumberland, in northern England, sweet cakes or dough called Yule babies were given to
children. The "babies" were very realistic, with currents for eyes nose and mouth and a row of currents
down the front for "buttons". Yorkshire housewives used to make a special Christmas cheese, but
before any of it could be eaten, she had to score a large cross in it with a sharp knife.

Animals were not left out of the festivities. Cattle, horses, sheep, pigs and birds were given extra food
and all these creatures were excused work on Christmas day itself. It was thought that the animals
somehow "knew" that Christ's birth was being celebrated and a special treat was prepared for them, in
the form of a sheaf of corn which hung from the ceiling of a farmhouse from harvest time in August. On
Christmas Eve, the sheaf was cut down and fed to the animals.

On Christmas day itself, Derbyshire folk used to find a dark-haired man and let him into the house
before anyone else was allowed to enter. The man had to go into each room in the house before it was
"proper" for the householder to admit the next visitor. Women, however, were excluded. Even the
farmer's wife had to go to sleep in someone else?s house on Christmas eve. This practice was
"confirmed" on one Christmas day in Herefordshire, in west England. A man who had taken a woman
into his house actually died soon afterwards! It appears that a dark-haired male "consecrated" the
threshold of a house and so "let in" Christmas. It was of course, very bad luck if a woman or girl turned
up first instead. In some districts, there were professional "lucky birds" who were engaged to cross
thresholds every Christmas and receive the small coins, cake, cheese, sweet homemade wine, bread,
salt and other "payments" that were their regular due.

There was also a character known as a "lucky bird".In the West Riding of Yorkshire he had to be dark-
haired and in the East Riding, light-haired. Redheaded men were barred, because that colour was
associated with Judas Iscariot who hair, it was believed, had been red. In the east Riding, the "lucky
bird" chosen to put the "first foot" past the door brought a spring of evergreen with him. After he had
gone, every member of the family went out to collect more sprigs and bring them to the house.
However, they were not allowed to wash until they had done so. Needless to say, bad luck would
follow if any of these customs was not properly observed. Really serious bad luck was thought to be
the consequence of a man with the "wrong" coloured hair putting the "first foot" over the doorstep.

Another old English custom was for the church choir to climb to the top of the church tower to sing
anthems In Yorkshire, the choir boys used to bring large baskets full of red applies, each basket being
decorated with sprigs of rosemary. In church, the boys went round the congregation, giving an apple to
everyone there and in return received small coins.

No one knows how old some of these Christmas customs were, but the strong element of superstition
they included points at least as far back as medieval times, in the 12th or 13th centuries. No one truly
believes in the bad luck that attended doing the wrong thing at Christmas, since superstition in Britain
today is not what it was. But then, neither is Christmas.